Furniture spring

ABSTRACT

An upholstery spring which has an outer support surface disposed in two distinct planes. The spring consists of a generally Yshaped body of elongated flat spring material. A V-shaped portion made of any flat spring material extends between the outer ends of the arms of the Y-shaped portion with the V-shaped configuration inwardly directed with respect to the arms of the Y-shaped portion to resiliently resist movement of the arms of the Y-shaped portion towards one another.

United States Patent Sano et al. Sept. 23, 1975 FURNITURE SPRING [56] References Cited [75] Inventors: Roy Michio Sano, Whitby; Fredolin UNITED STATES PATENTS Edward Kunkel, ha both of 2,812,803 11/1957 Neely 267/107 Canada 3,240,482 3/1966 Slominski et al. 267/102 21970 Sl '.k' 267 l 73 Ass1gnee: Sklar Furniture Limited, Wh1tby, 3 550 926 l 07 Canada 1.

Primary ExammerJames B. Marbert [22] Filed: July 19, 1974 Attorney, Ager lt, or FirmFetherstonhaugh & Co. [21] Appl. No.2 490,042

r [57] ABSTRACT f Apphcatlon Dam An upholstery spring which'has an outer support sur- [63] Continuatlon-in-part of Ser. No. 4ll,48l, Oct. 31, face disposed in two distinct p|anes The spring com 1973' sists of a generally Y-shaped body of elongated flat spring material. A V-shaped portion made of any flat [30] Forelgn Apphcatlon Pnonty Data spring material extends between the outer ends of the OCL 24, 1973 Canada [84094 arms of the Y shaped portion the V-shaped con. figuration inwardly directed with respect to the arms U.S. of the Y-shaped portion to resiliently resist movement Int. Cl. of the arms of the Y shaped portion towards one an- [58] Field of Search 267/85, l02, 103, 104, wh

1 Claim, 6 Drawing Figures US Patent Sept. 23,1975 Sheet 1 of 3 3,907,266

US Patent Sept. 23,1975 Sheet 2 of3 3,907,266

US Patent Sept. 23,1975 Sheet 3 of3 3,907,266

FURNITURE SPRING This invention relates to upholstery springs. In particular, this invention relates to an upholstery backing spring designed to provide two distinct back support planes.

PRIOR ART Considerable difficulty has been experienced in providing a spring structure which will effectively support a backrest of an article of furniture in two distinct planes. In articles of furniture such as chairs, and in particular reclining chairs, it has been found that in order to obtain optimum comfort, it is necessary to form the backrest in two distinct curvatures. In particular an outwardly directed curved pillow support must be provided for the lower back of the user. It has previously been proposed to provide this outwardly directed curvature by means of preformed foam pillows. Despite the fact that foam pillows have been in use for some considerable time in the manufacture of articles of furniture, metal springs continue to be recognized as providing the most comfortable support. Difficulty has, however, been experienced in obtaining the required degree of rigidity in a two-level back support when using a unitary spring. As a result, the practice has been to modify the frame structure by including an intermediate transverse rail disposed between the upper and lower transverse rails of the article of furniture and to form the spring in two sections, one of which has a curvature extending between the upper rail and the intermediate rail and the other of which has a curvature extending between the intermediate rail and the first rail. This practice increases the cost of manufacture of the frame and increases the cost of installing the springs.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION The present invention overcomes the difficulties of the prior art described above and provides a simple and efficient upholstery spring which has an outer support surface disposed in two distinct planes.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an upholstery spring comprises an elongated body of flat spring material formed to provide a first longitudinally extending portion having a first end and a second end and a second portion having a length which is less than the length of the first portion. The second portion has an inner end connected to the first portion at a point spaced inwardly from the ends of the first portion. The second portion projects upwardly and outwardly from the first portion in the direction of the second end of said first portion and has an outer end disposed in a spaced relationship with respect to said second end of said first portion. A third portion of said spring has a length which is substantially greater than the distance between' the outer end of the second portion and the second end of the first portion, the third portion extends between the outer end of the second portion and the second end of the first portion in an inwardly directed underlying relationship with respect to the first and second portions whereby the third portion serves to resiliently resist movement of the second portion towards the first portion.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention will be more clearly understood after reference to the following detailed specification read in conjunction with the drawings wherein FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of an upholstery spring according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a pictorial view of a portion of a partially upholstered frame of a seating article;

FIG. 3 is a sectional end view of the seating article of FIG. 2; Y

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the upholstery spring in a compressed configuration;

FIG. 5 is a pictorial front view of a spring according to a further'embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a side view of the spring of FIG. 5.

With reference to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the reference numeral 10 refers generally to an upholstery spring according to an embodiment of the present invention. The spring is preferably made from a spring steel wire which is bent to and fro upon itself to the configuration shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings. It will be understood, however, that the spring may also be in the form of an elongated flat sheet of spring steel. The spring has a first portion 12 which has an upper end 14 and a lower end 16. The first portion l2'preferably has an outwardly directed convex curvature between the ends thereof. A second portion 18 has its inner end 20 secured with respect to the first portion 12 by means of crimped sleeves 22 or the like. The spring also includes a third portion 24 which has one end connected to the second end 16 of the first portion 12 and another end connected to the outer end of the second portion 18. The third portion 24 is generally V-shaped and extends inwardly from the ends of the first and second portions to underlie the first and second portions. As shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, the elongated flat body of spring material is a unitary body which is folded upon itself to form said first, second and third portions.

It will be noted that the spring has a generally Y- shaped main body portion with a generally V-shaped portion extending inwardly from the outwardly directed arms of the Y-shaped portion.

With reference to FIG. 2 of the drawings, the reference numeral 30 refers generally to a conventional frame structure of an article of furniture. The frame includes a top rail 32 and a bottom rail 34 which extend transversely thereof. A plurality of upholstery springs 10 are mounted at spaced longitudinal intervals along the length of the rails 32, 34. The springs are mounted with the upper end 14 of the first body portion secured to the upper rail 32 and the lower end 16 of the first body portion secured to the lower rail 34. The second and third portions project outwardly from the first portion towards the lower end thereof. Upholstered padding or cushions may then be secured with respect to the frame and springs in a conventional manner as, for example, to provide a bulbous pillow 36 at the upper portion of the spring and a bulbous pillow 38 at the lower portion of the spring. When in use, the lower portion of the spring may be compressed when the lower pillow 38 moves inwardly and the third portion 24 of the spring serves to assist the lower portion of the spring to recover its original shape after compression.

The upholstery springs of the present invention permit the use of a conventional upholstery frame in the manufacture of upholstered furniture which is formed to provide a bulbous back support pillow for the lower back portion of the user.

It will be noted that in the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, the second portion 18 of the spring has been provided with an extension which extends in an overlying relationship with respect to the first portion of the spring outwardly from the connection of the second portion of the spring to the first portion of the spring. This extension serves to increase the rigidity of the first portion of the spring substantially centrally of the length thereof. This structure has been found to further improve the back support characteristics of the spring in that it improves the comfort experienced by the user.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 5 of the drawings, the upholstery spring includes a fourth portion 40 which projects upwardly and outwardly from the first portion 12 adjacent the connection of the first portion 12 to the second portion 18. The fourth portion 40 is formed integrally with the third portion 24. The fourth portion 40 serves to project into the bulbous pillow 36 of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 and acts as an additional spring adding resilience to the pillow portion 36. It has been found that this free extension 40 projecting into the pillow portion 36 considerably enhances the feel of the pillow. The fact that the fourth portion 40 is formed integrally with the second portion 18 permits it to be mounted to twist about its connection with the remainder of the body of the spring to derive resilience from this connection. The free space provided between the fourth portion 40 and the first portion 12 of the spring permits the fourth portion 40 to be compressed towards the main body portion 12 with only light resistance. The fourth portion 40 of the spring does, however, prevent unsightly depressions appearing in the pillow 36 when a load is removed therefrom. The portion 40 serves to return the pillow portion 36 to its required bulbous configuration after a load has been removed therefrom.

Various modifications of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the spring of the present invention may be made in a plurality of separate lengths secured to one another in the required form. In addition, the extension of the second portion of the spring may be eliminated without eliminating the improvement provided by the combination of the second and third portions of the spring.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. In an upholstered furniture seating article having a frame including upper and lower backing rails, the improvement of an upholstery spring comprising an elongated body of flat spring material formed to provide a first longitudinally extending portion having a first end secured to said upper backing rail and a second end secured to said lower backing rail, said first portion extending in a first are of curvature between said first and second secured ends to form a back support spring, a second portion having a length which is less than the length of the first portion and having an inner end connected to said first portion at a point spaced above said second end of said first portion, said second portion projecting outwardly and downwardly from its connection with said first portion in a second arc of curvature in the direction of said second end and having an outer end disposed in a spaced relationship with respect to said second end of said first portion to provide a lower back support spring projecting in the direction of said second arc of curvature, a third portion having a length which is greater than the distance between the outer end of the second portion and said second end of said first portion, said third portion extending between said outer end of said second portion and said second end of said first portion in an inwardly directed underlying relationship with respect to said first and second portions whereby said third portion serves to resiliently resist movement of said second portion towards said first portion. 

1. In an upholstered furniture seating article having a frame including upper and lower backing rails, the improvement of an upholstery spring comprising an elongated body of flat spring material formed to provide a first longitudinally extending portion having a first end secured to said upper backing rail and a second end secured to said lower backing rail, said first portion extending in a first arc of curvature between said first and second secured ends to form a back support spring, a second portion having a length which is less than the length of the first portion and having an inner end connected to said first portion at a point spaced above said second end of said first portion, said second portion projecting outwardly and downwardly from its connection with said first portion in a second arc of curvature in the direction of said second end and having an outer end disposed in a spaced relationship with respect to said second end of said first portion to provide a lower back support spring projecting in the direction of said second arc of curvature, a third portion having a length which is greater than the distance between the outer end of the second portion and said second end of said first portion, said third portion extending between said outer end of said second portion and said second end of said first portion in an inwardly directed underlying relationship with respect to said first and second portions whereby said third portion serves to resiliently resist movement of said second portion towards said first portion. 